1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of object-oriented programming. More particularly, the present invention relates to a secure naming model for objects in an object-oriented system.
2. Art Background
An object in an object-oriented system typically comprises a collection of data and a set of functions for manipulating the collection of data. The collection of data is referred to as state data for the object. The functions for manipulating the state data are referred to as operations. Each object corresponds to an object manager. The object manager is a server that performs the operations for the object and that maintains the state data in the object.
Typically, a client sends a message to the object to perform an operation. The message usually invokes one of the operations within the object. The message typically comprises an operation selector and a set of parameter data. The operation selector selects the operation within the object for manipulating of the object. The parameter data typically provides external information employed by the invoked operation. The operation usually returns a return value to the client after completion of the operation. The return value typically provides the results of the operation.
A naming service is usually employed to simplify access to objects in an object-oriented system. A naming service associates names to the objects within the system. The functions of a naming service are typically performed by one or more name servers. Each name server contains a list of name to object associations.
A client typically issues requests to a name server to resolve a requested name and return a duplicate of the object corresponding to the requested name. In a typical object-oriented system, each name server can create duplicates of the objects. As a consequence, the access to the name servers should be secure.